The record, 18 juin 2014, mercredi 18 juin 2014

Ammo goes off in Tuesday basement fire Page 4 75 CENTS + TAXES Fire department and police deployed in kayaker rescue operation By Josh Quirion An emergency call was issued at 3:12 on Tuesday afternoon after the female companion of a male kayaker was absent from the arranged convening location for an estimated period of one hour.The subjects, a male and a female in their 20s, had been experiencing difficulties after their kayaks tipped on multiple occasions in the strong currents of the St-Francis River.After their third combined submersion, the pair opted to abort the excursion, and the man exited the water, suggesting that they meet at a particular position downriver.After an hour the woman was still unaccounted for and the man called for help from his nearby grandfather’s house.Members of three fire-stations, including that of district 6 (Lennoxville borough), were deployed for a search-and-rescue mission commanded by Sherbrooke Police Chief of Operations, Alexandre Groleau.A perimeter was established between Galvin Road, in Lennoxville, where the man initially went to shore, and Ascot, at the height of Grandes-Fourches in Sherbrooke, in order to maximize the scope of the search.The response team’s most convenient access to the river was by Optimist Park in Lennoxville, but the shallow waters at that particular height of the St-Francis caused complications as the boats attempted to navigate.In a subsequent search tactic, teams were assembled and dispatched to patrol the shores of the river, and it was this strategy that led one party to the missing woman.She said that she was in good condition, and that it was not necessary for her to be escorted to the hospital for Cont’d on page 3 THE mhmb mm The voice of the Eas PM#0040007682 Mario Beaulieu: The Alamo Québécois WN S HIPS- SI N CE 18 9 7 Mike McDevitt " Pa9e 6 10 JUIN ?n jj Wednesday, June 18, 2014 Not this year for ‘Project 2014’ Derelict building to be demolished in the coming weeks with no replacement in sight GORDON I.AMBIF.«Si WWW ' W The building at 152 Queen Street that has been a blight on the borough's core for almost five years will finally be torn down.By Gordon Lambie After signs were mounted on the dilapidated structure at 152 Queen Street in late 2013 displaying a bright new addition to the building next door in place of Lennoxville’s most reviled eyesore, locals were left with a small hope that the building that has been a blight on the borough’s core for almost five years might finally be replaced.According to borough councillor Claude Charron, a change is coming, but it is not the bright new building that the posters promise.“It’s a compromise,” Charron said, explaining that the owners of the building, who also own the building housing the adjacent Familiprix pharmacy, have acquired a demolition permit and have to take the building and the derelict apartments behind it down by December 15.After that, however, the vacant lot will be converted to a green space and left undeveloped.“The investment is not worth the effort, apparently” Charron added, explaining that the developers have not found a renter for the proposed building’s 4,570 square foot commercial space.The councillor pointed to that fact, combined with the cost of constructing an underground parking garage, and the unexpected discovery of asbestos in the structures to be demolished, as part of the reasoning that led to the change in plans.“It should be down in the next couple of days or weeks,” explained building manager Yvon Ledoux, explaining that the owners got permission a month ago, but were legally obligated to leave a 30 day window for residents to contest the building’s destruction.“We had already hired the people who will be taking down the building and they had started when we found out about the 30 day window.” Asked about the future of the site, Ledoux said that there will be construction eventually.“It’s not going to be right now, but there is going to be a building there,” Cont’d on page 3 — THE —i RECORD SPECIAL OFFER for Record print subscribers: Receive a full year’s subscription to the online edition for only $5 with every new 12 month print subscription or renewal.Read The Record online any time, any place Subscribers can view each new issue of The Record, as well as Brome County News, The Townships Outlet and our many special sections with just the click of the mouse.To subscribe, go to www.sherbrookerecord.com, click on e-dition and follow the simple instructions.For information or assistance call 819-569-9528 billing@sherbrookerecord.com Page 2 Wednesday, June 18, 2014 newsroom@sherbrookerecord.com The Record Cherry River trails to stay closed Sherbrooke For security reasons, the trails on stilts in the Cherry River Marsh will have to remain closed for an indefinite period.According to the Association du Marais-de-la-Rivière-aux-Cerises, an inspection carried out confirmed the closure is due to rot.Much of the structure on stilts no longer meets the safety standards required by the Quebec Building Code in terms of loadcarrying capacity and considerable work must be done to permit the reopening of the trails.A meeting is scheduled with the Committee on the Environment and Spatial Planning of the Town of Magog on June 19 to discuss the situation and find a solution.The public is asked to obey the signs and not to attempt to access trails on stilts in any way whatsoever.Forest trails near the marsh interpretive centre and accessible by Roy Road remain open.: Weather .¦ V ¦ : TODAY: SHOWERS J S: * ¦: HIGH OF 23 LOW OF 16 THURSDAY: SUNNY HIGH OF 21 .LOW OF 11 FRIDAY: MIX OF SUN AND CLOUDS ’ HIGH OF 19 LOW OF 8 i ± I / SATURDAY: - ' MIX OF SUN AND CLOUDS ^ HIGH OF 20 — LOW OF 9 V SUNDAY: SUNNY —' HIGH OF 25 LOW OF 8 Keeping in Touch TOWNSHIPPERS' ASSOCIATION ToWN/hipper/ 1 /'} : r s a Townshippers’ Association is thrilled to welcome student interns Lindsay McAllister, Meghun Wrathall and Zachary Lapointe who will be sharing their energy and talents with the association and community this summer.ToWN/hipper/ Welcome summer interns! Townshippers’ Association would like to give a warm welcome to our three new student interns Lindsay McAllister, Meghan Wrathall and Zachary Lapointe, who will share their energy and talents with the association this summer.Lindsay McAllister is a Politics Major studying at Ontario’s University of Guelph.After a tough decision to leave the Eastern Townships in December of 2014 to attend university close to her hometown, Lindsay is ecstatic to return to Townshippers’ for her second summer, this time working as the English Speaking Community Research Coordinator, a project she is very excited for as a born Anglophone who loves the Townships region.Accompanying her to work every day is her two and a half year old Rottweiler psychiatric service dog Madden.After recently completing his full certification Madden will be at the top of his game this summer, although Townshippers’ staff can expect a few kisses and demands for belly rubs every now and then! Hailing from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Meghan Wrathall is studying Honours Sociology at Bishop’s University.Over the summer Meghan will be working as Townshippers’ Cultural Events Coordinator Assistant.Among some of her duties, Meghan looks forward to helping make the 35th annual Townshippers Day full of fun and excitement for the whole family! Making the rounds at various events this summer will be Townshippers’ Ambassador Zachary Lapointe.As he prepares for the last half of his Bishop’s education in Psychology and Philosophy this fall, Zachary says he is “proud to be a part of such an incredible organization that really cares for both the community as well as their staff!” and he looks for- ward to meeting as many community members as possible.Annual General Meeting Members of Townshippers’ Association who are planning the associations 2014 Annual General Meeting at the Or-ford Arts Centre, 3165 chemin du Parc, Orford, this Friday, June 20, 2014, at 5:30 p.m.must RSVP to ensure their seat.Register today online at http://Town-shippersAGM.eventbrite.ca or by contacting Cathy Turner at ct@townshippers.qc.ca or 819-566-5717 (1-866-566-2182).Townships Expressions last summer reading suggestion Summer arrives this Saturday and to celebrate Townships Expression’s last reading suggestion of the season features a collection of humorous and whimsical vignettes to see you through those lazy, hazy wonderful sunny days.The Massawippi Monster and Other Friends of Mine - Ronald Sutherland This collection of various vignettes by the late Ronald Sutherland features the adventures, problems and challenges of raising a family of five, four girls and a boy, to presumed maturity.Pieces in the collection have been published in a number of newspapers, reprinted in anthologies, incorporated into textbooks and training manuals and one was quoted in the Canadian Parliament, leading to a government protest which dissuaded the United States from dumping radioactive waste materials in Northern Vermont by the Canadian border.Stock your summer shelf with Ronald Sutherland’s The Massawippi Monster ($25, paperback) from Townships Expression’s in-store boutique at Town-shippers’ offices in Sherbrooke or Lac-Brome during business hours or anytime online at Townshippers.qc.ca (click Shop].We hope you have enjoyed these recommendations and will visit the collection of over 80 varied titles, written by local authors or with a Townships theme, throughout the year.Do you have an Expressions favourite?Leave a review at the online shop and help others discover a great story! For more information on Townshippers’ Association and our activities, keep reading this weekly Keeping in Touch column in The Record and visit us on Twitter@Townshippers, Facebook and our website www.townshippers.qc.ca.Connect with Townshippers’ offices in Sherbrooke at 100 - 257 Queen St.819-566-5717, toll free: 1-866-566-5717 or Lac-Brome at 3-584 Knowlton Rd, 450-242-4421, toll free: 1-877-242^1421.Ben by Daniel Shelton i say we go through IMS WHOLE ERIPOEANP PETERWNE IF YOU REAU-Y HELP TO KEEP EVERY SINGLE 5EN, JGREWUP WITH I (APPLY AWY THINO WHEN IT COMES TO FOOP 1 HAVE A HARP TIME GETTING RIP OF STUFF WELL, WE FONT HAVE TO THROW OUT EVERYTHIN^ WË FONT WANT. The Record i newsroom'@sherbrookerecord.com Wednesday, June 18, 2014 Page 3 ——- ¦.'S .• ?! ' __ The demonstration was one of several taking place simultaneously across the province.ÉÈBÊË i' .I ¦!—»¦¦¦¦¦¦¦* Ml I ¦¦¦ .-.— - Pension plan protest creates traffic backup in Sherbrooke =1^ GORDON LAMB IE Wellington anti Irontenac Streets in Sherbrooke were crowded with municipal vehicles blasting their horns at 2 pm on Tuesday.The demonstration was one of several taking place simultaneously across the province to protest recent changes to municipal workers' pension plans.Kayaker rescue Cont’d from page 1 .JOSH QUIRION Sherbnxfke Police Chief of Operations Alexandre Gorleau commends his team after a successful intervention.treatment or evaluation for hypothermia which is usually associated to similar such incidents.“It was a collaborative effort between the fire-department and the police force that enabled the successful rescue,” commented Groleau.The grandmother of the man who placed the call was present at the scene when the couple was reunited, and she expressed her relief, as well as her gratitude towards those who consolidated the rescue.Not this year for ‘Project 2014’ GORDON LAMBIC The next building to disappear from the borough will be the co-op building between the train tracks across from Clark and Sons.Cont'd from page 1 the building manager asserted.“I don’t think there’s going to be anything there be fore the end of this year.” Steve Pankovitch, President of the Lennoxville Residents’ Association said that the decision to sod the land made sense, but nonetheless lamented the “downtrodden” look it will give the core of the borough.“You can’t force them to build a building, but you can get them to tear the ugly disaster down,” Pankovitch said.“If it’s just sod then so be it; it’s better than what’s there right now.” The LRA President recalled looking at the building’s north side while re-painting the graf-fitied wall of the Familiprix re cently and expressed concern about the large shards of broken glass hanging out of the building’s top storey.He expressed relief at the fact that the building manager told him the building would be down within two weeks, and said that any more inaction would start to render the building a threat to public safety.To the notion that the new construction wouldn’t go forward due to a lack of renters, Pankovitch said he was not surprised.“Who’s going to rent a mas- sive commercial space?” the LRA representative said.“There’s only so many pharmacies we can have.There’s not a lot of business done on that scale in Lennoxville.They didn’t plan it for the student space.” When asked, Ledoux said that he has received “several calls” from potential renters, but that a.decision had yet to be made.Borough President David Price shared in Charron’s view that the demolition is a compromise, calling the move “not perfect,” but highlighting the improvement that even a grassy lot would be over the abandoned structure.He said that given the age of the building and its placement in town, it could have become a historic building, had it not been subject to years of neglect.“Had it been kept up a bit more we would have had the other battle of having to restore it” Price said, “ but it just decayed too far.” The borough president then went on to explain that the next building to disappear from the borough will be the co-op building between the train tracks across from Clark and Sons.Price said that the building at 2882 college, owned by Bishop’s University, has been the victim of carpenter ants, to the point that the structure has become unsound.“They’ve eaten the beams,” he said, “you can take your finger and put it right in.” The university had been using the space for storage, but has vacated the building to avoid injuries.Price said that the building is not dangerous from the outside, but it’s also no longer useful.The borough president explained that as the demolitions committee only sits every month and a half, with the most imminent meeting being this week, it will likely be a few months before there is any action on the site itself.“There’s absolutely no danger from the outside at all," Price assured.“They’ve just removed everything from the building because they don’t want employees going inside and getting hurt.” While the councillor said he was unaware what Bishop’s plans were for the he land postdemolition, he explained that he doubts anything will be done with the space due to the lack of overall area available.“The building is not that big,” Price said, “you couldn’t really put anything up there that would be worthwhile.” Page 4 Wednesday, June 18, 2014 newsroom@sherbrookerecord.com The Record The Quest for the Eagle Eye Amulet Wmwtfmïi QUEST FQfQTHE R O H A N Dishpan Hands Seasonal shift should always be, in part, about reading.Selecting books for the summer is like choosing your vacation destination.Here's a great opportunity to take a trip like no other.When author Julia Rohan first wrote her book on the fictional land of Weaver-world, it was eight years of composition, and a single 1,500-page young adult fiction fantasy story, crafted, threaded and mapped.However, when she sat down with it following some precious professional advice, Rohan hoisted her mighty pen and cleft it in three.The result was a trio of books that were rather different from the first body of work.This is how the first in her Weaverworld triology, “Grimsnipe’s Revenge” was born, released in 2012, largely an introduction to eleven year-old protagonist Jack Fisher, and the many characters who soon swoop in (and out of) his seemingly everyday boyish life.A source of reputable recommendations, Kirkus Reviews applauded Rohan’s first tome, summarizing the plot as follows, “As an 11-year-old, Jack Andrew Fisher seemingly has little interest in matters of intellect; he simply wants to go to summer skateboard camp, regardless of what his report card says.He escapes from his boring family reunion by sneaking into his grandmother’s attic, when a bizarre event portals him to a world of unfamiliar people, bizarre creatures and benevolent/malevolent beings.He receives a generous tourist pass and is taken in by both the good-natured Wid- get Family and the curmudgeonly but virtuous Aladdeus Gaelblade.Jack learns that the people in his newfound world have a special gift of weaving—the ability to summon one’s imagination to create things.One must use weaving for only good purposes, of course, with the quality of the finished product dependent upon the weaver’s personal character and diligence.” (www.kirkusreviews.com) The re-write of book two was already underway when “Grimsnipe’s Revenge” began warming bookshelves, bedtimes and laps, moving from the (to borrow Julia's term) expository nature of the first book, and onto some serious action, known as “The Quest for the Eagle Eye Amulet.” I sat down with the author recently, to learn of the continuation of adventures in Weaverworld.Julia Rohan has presence.Magic rolls around her like invisible mist.Maybe it’s the ginger hair, the level of focus, or her poise, strength of character and welcoming openness that invokes this mist?Likely a convergence of these characteristics, braided through with an education in Desktop Publishing followed by English Literature (Concordia University) that results in a powerful aura.“I don’t get writer’s block,” Julia expressed in our recent interview time over coffee at Knowlton’s Star Café.“It all begins with a question! ALL creativity! What would happen if I put this colour on the canvas?Or if I put these words together?What do I love?What do I care about?What makes me laugh?” Inspiration is probably infused in that mist I mentioned.It’s Julia Rohan’s constant companion, whispering questions in her ear, yet not distracting her from present company.The Weaverworld trilogy, while featuring a male lead character, appeals to all, and in the spirit of good YA fantasy (and quality writing), is a book for all ages.This second installment in Jack Fisher’s adventures in Weaverworld, The Quest for the Eagle Eye Amulet, will be launched this Saturday, June 21, from 1 - 2:30 p.m.at Knowlton’s Brome Lake Books, in its brand new home, located at 30 D Lakeside road, just behind La Vie Sucrée Christmas shop.Julia Rohan will be present to sign books, and visit with Weaverworld readers.The key to one memorable summer vacation?Found in Weaverworld.Read all about it -Two decades of headlines compiled into 2 books The Record has scanned and digitized original copies of the front pages of our newspaper from the turn of the century.Read about the efforts and sacrifices of two World Wars, the Depression, fires, floods, crime and punishment.More than that, the pages are a testament to the builders and leaders whose names grace our street signs and institutions.The Record was a driving force behind the formation of boards of trade, a watchdog over town councils, a lead advocate for the extension of the railway to local communities and a vigilant protector of the region’s natural resources.Our goal today is to print volumes in segments highlighting the most important stories of each decade.• Volume 1 is from 1911-1920 • Volume 2 is from 1921-1930.Only a limited number of the bound 10” x 13” editions have been printed and are for sale for only $25.each plus taxes ($28.75).Drop by our office at 1195 Galt St.East, Sherbrooke and pick them up.For more information call 819-569-9528 or email us at biliing@sherbrookerecord.com Drugs and alcohol occupy Memphremagog police Record Staff Memphremagog police spent a lot of time on drugs and alcohol over the weekend, but they weren’t the ones having the party as five different cases preoccupied officers and several arrests were made.The weekend began with the arrest of two youths aged 17 and 22 in the yard of a Magog business with a small amount of hashish and cannabis in their possession.Later, police attended the paramedics who had responded to the call for a 14 year old who had consumed a tablet of methamphetamine and had lost consciousness.“A young man of 17, who was there with other friends, was free under a curfew order and a prohibition of possessing narcotics, and was found in possession of cannabis.He will also be charged with obstructing officers,” says the police spokesperson Paul Tear.In addition, during a routine check, the police arrested an 18 and a 19-year old on Boulevard des Étudiants with cannabis and 20 tablets of methamphetamine.While stopping a vehicle on Des Pins St.in Magog, three girls aged 19 were arrested on the night of June 14 to 15 in possession of cannabis and ecstasy.A man who was begging door-to-door was arrested in an advanced state of drunkenness and the search fe-vealed a cannabis joint.The three cases involving alcohol concerned two drunk drivers and a person holding a party, who were drunk enough to earn statements of offence for refusing to identify themselves and for possession of contraband cigarettes.In addition, two boys aged 13 and 14 years were released after their arrest for stealing from vehicles in a parking lot of an apartment block on the evening on June 13.They were handed over to their parents.Ammo goes off in basement fire Sherbrooke Afire in a residence on rue des Zircons in Fleurimont early Monday evening went from ‘routine’ to war-like when improperly stored ammunition in the burning basement began to explode.“When we arrived, there were explosions from ammunition,” says Sherbrooke Fire Department Chief of Operations Lee Hansford.“If they are not being shot into a fuel tank, there should be no problem.That’s what we had to find out." Firefighters suspect a defect in an air exchanger was the cause of the incident.Seventeen firefighters responded to the scene and the .Sherbrooke police were called in to verify the storage of the firearms in the home. The Record î newsroom@sherbrookerecord.com Wednesday, June 18, 2014 Page 5